LANCASTER, Pa. – Fifteen-time defending chamion Johns Hopkins has been chosen as the favorite to hoist the conference trophy in the 2023 Centennial Conference Women's Tennis Preseason Poll. The Blue Jays received all nine possible first-place votes and compiled 81 points to earn top billing in a vote among conference head coaches. 

Swarthmore was projected to finish second with 71 points and the remaining first-place vote. Haverford was picked third with 66 points, while Washington College (54), Franklin & Marshall (51) and Ursinus (37) were also predicted to make in the CC postseason in fourth through sixth, respectively. 

Gettysburg earned the seventh spot in the ranks with 34 points followed by Dickinson (29), Bryn Mawr (15) and Muhlenberg (12). 

A trio of CC squads open up their spring campaigns this weekend, while all 10 teams slated to begin play by mid to late March. The majority of conference play will take place in late March through the third week in April. The newly-expanded six-team CC Tournament is set for Apr. 26-28-30 with the higher seeds hosting each round. 

2023 Schedule | 2022 Results | 2022 All-Centennial Team 

The 2022 Centennial women's tennis season featured another Hopkins title as the Blue Jays extended their CC winning streak to 15 consecutive seasons. JHU downed Swarthmore 5-2 in the championship match to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In NCAA's, the Blue Jays blanked Rhode Island College 5-0 in round one before falling to Williams 5-2 in the second round. 

JHU's Anjali Devireddy, the two-time defending CC Player of the Year, and Haverford's Abbey Russano represented the Centennial in the NCAA singles championship. Swarthmore's  tandem of Nathalie Williams and Cyrstal Xu competed in the NCAA doubles championship. 

Devireddy headlines a list of 19 players with all-conference experience set to return to the court this spring, including all six first team singles players from a season ago. Hopkins, Haverford and Swarthmore lead the way with four All-CC returners apiece, while F&M (3), Dickinson (2) and Washington College (2) also welcome back multiple all-stars. 

A two-time honoree on both the All-CC singles and doubles teams, Devireddy is one of seven players in CC history to win Player of the Year multiple times. She has the chance to become the third player to win the conference's top award at least three times this spring. Joining Devireddy as returning All-CC performers for the Blue Jays are Christina Huynh (2022 second team singles), Emily Javedan (2021 first team doubles) and Ali Bader (2021 Rookie of the Year & honorable mention doubles). 

Swarthmore returns 2022 Rookie of the Year Nathalie Williams (2022 first team singles & first team doubles), Jenny Lewis (2022 first team singles), Crystal Xu (2022 first team doubles) and Erica Stutz (2022 first team doubles). 

Haverford's quartet of returning all-stars includes Russano (2022 first team singles & second team doubles), Ellie Esterowitz (2022 second team singles & doubles), Mimi Lavin (2022 second team singles), and Rachael Fitzgerald (2022 second team doubles). 

Cassidy Landau leads the F&M returners as a two-time first-team singles honoree and a two-time doubles all-star as well. Other Diplomats with all-conference laurels include Jenna Harrison (2022 second team singles) and Sammi Perry (2022 honorable mention doubles, 2021 second team doubles & 2021 second team singles). 

Washington College's Irene Meng (2022 first team singles & 2021 first team singles and doubles) will look to become a three-time All-CC pick this season, while Maria Cristina Diaz-Nazario (2022 second team doubles) is also back for the Shorewomen. Dickinson's Martine Fierro (2022 second team singles, 2021 first team singles and second team doubles) and Ariana Goitz (2021 second team singles & doubles) have also received multiple all-conference nods throughout their careers. 

2023 Centennial Conference Women's Tennis Preseason Poll